Berlin, 10-11.11.2017

Since the earliest days of generative linguistics, the mechanism of selection has been the subject of intense scrutiny. Grimshaw (1979) famously argued that lexical items may impose both c(ategory)- and s(emantic)-selection; logically independent properties. Subsequent work by Pesetsky (1982) argued that many of Grimshaw (1979)’s observations framed as arguments for c-selection can instead be analyzed in terms of abstract case, thus raising the possibility of factoring c-selection out of the grammar completely. This pioneering work on selection has framed subsequent research in two ways. First, a debate ensued regarding whether it is possible to simplify Grimshaw (1979)’s system, by explaining selectional requirements in terms of other factors (Pesetsky 1991, 1993; Rothstein 1992; Odijk 1997). Second, these selectional requirements were used as a starting point for research into a range of empricial phenomena related to clausal embedding (Adger and Quer 2001; Moltmann 2004; Moulton 2009; Kastner 2015).

Recently developed resources may help shed new light on these questions. The current workshop will coincide with the launch of the ZAS Database of Clause Embedding Predicates1 an online database of predicates and the arguments they embed, which can be queried according to a variety of criteria (Stiebels et al. (2017)). Other resources, such as the MegaAttitude dataset2, can similarly inform large-scale computational investigations (White and Rawlins 2016a, 2016b).

The workshop aims to bring together researchers working on the selectional properties of predicates in an attempt to bring together the two lines of research mentioned above, as well as the specific topics below. We welcome theoretical, experimental, computational and typological work that bears on the selectional properties of predicates and the elements they embed. A non-exhaustive list of topics includes the following: